Zela
Zela is an ancient site located in northern Asia Minor, known for its historical significance as an autonomous temple domain dedicated to the cult of the goddess Anahita, among other deities. Situated on a low hill overlooking a crossroads and a tributary of the Iris River, Zela was not only a religious center but also a site of military importance. The region was linked to significant events in history, including the defeat of Lucullus' general Gaius Triarius in 67 BC by Mithridates VI Eupator, and Julius Caesar's decisive victory over King Pharnaces II in 47 BC, famously encapsulated by his phrase "veni, vidi, vici."
Throughout its history, Zela experienced various transitions, including a civic constitution granted by Pompey and a reversion to a temple status under Antony. The site features ruins that reflect its rich past, including a theater and architectural remnants linked to the sanctuary of Anaitis. Following Roman annexation in AD 64, Zela regained its city status and continued to issue coinage depicting its notable structures, which remain partially obscured beneath later Byzantine and Turkish fortifications. Today, Zela stands as a testament to its layered historical narrative, appealing to those interested in ancient cultures and military history.
Subject Terms
Zela
(Zile)
An inland center of Pontus (northern Asia Minor), situated on a low, isolated hill presiding over a crossroads beside a tributary (the Zile Suyu) of the Iris (Yeşil Irmak). Zela was an ancient autonomous temple domain dedicated to the cult of the goddess Anahita (Anaitis) and to the `Persian deities’ Omanus and Anadatus—to whose worship the annual sacred festival of the Sacaea was devoted—and possessed extensive territory in the adjoining fertile plain, cultivated by temple serfs. The cult, which was especially revered in connection with oaths, was attributed to the legendary Semiramis, queen of Assyria, but seems to have been inaugurated or developed by Achaemenid Persian generals, and continued, in partially Hellenized form, under the protection of the Mithridatid rulers of Pontus.
In 67 BC, during his Third War against the Romans, Mithridates VI Eupator defeated Lucullus' general Gaius Triarius in a swamp near Mount Scotium, three miles from Zela, inflicting a loss of 7000 men. During Pompey's settlement of 64, while he was pausing at Zela to bury Triarius' soldiers, he gave the place a civic constitution, settled many of its inhabitants within the walls (according to Strabo), and increased its territorial possessions. In 47 a narrow valley to the northwest of Zela was the scene of Julius Caesar's victory over the Pontic king Pharnaces II, after a brilliant campaign of five days; Pharnaces rashly launched an uphill attack that proved totally unsuccessful, and at his subsequent Triumph at Rome, Caesar displayed a placard bearing the message `I came, I saw, I conquered (veni, vidi, vici)’.
Under Antony, c 40 or 37, Zela gained additional lands (thus possibly recuperating territorial losses inflicted by Caesar), and reverted from urban rank to its previous temple status within the kingdom of Polemo I of Pontus (d. 8 BC), in which it remained, with at least part of its territory, until Roman annexation in AD 64. Thereupon it became a city again, issuing coinage under the family of Septimius Severus (193–217). These issues portrayed the Propylaea on Zela's acropolis, a flaming altar on top of the same hill (?), a temple with a barrier across the entrance, a temple or gate with a curious triple pediment, an altar within a portico, and a gate to an altar court. Most or all of these designs relate to the sanctuary of Anaitis, which now lies beneath Byzantine and Turkish fortifications. On a flank of the acropolis a small theater is partly carved out of the rock.